It has been more than three and a half years since FASTag was made mandatory for all four-wheelers in India. While the idea was to have a seamless flow of traffic on highways that remains uninterrupted by toll booths, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) seems to be facing a new challenge it did not expect at first. Many users have been shying away from putting FASTag on their windshields for a variety of reasons, mostly motivated by myths and misinformation.
On Thursday, the NHAI issued an order saying that national highway users who deliberately do not fix FASTag on the windscreens of their vehicles will have to pay double the user fee on entering the toll lanes.
Speaking to News18, an official while seeking anonymity, said that the idea behind FASTag was that the users don’t have to queue up at toll booths.
“It was supposed to be seamless. But some people are not putting FASTag on the windshield and that increases the time taken by them at the toll. This impacts other users too,” said the official.
As per the ministry of road transport and highways, the average waiting time at the toll plazas has been reduced from 734 seconds to 47 seconds with the implementation of FASTag.
But why exactly do people avoid affixing FASTag on the windshield? There are a number of reasons.
Fake scam
Speaking to News18, 55-year-old Mohan Yadav said a video went viral on social media, showing how you can get scammed as anyone can scan the FASTag and withdraw money from your bank account.
“A friend of mine sent me that video and told me this is happening. I removed the FASTag,” Yadav said. He added that he anyway has to drive in the city and uses these highways only once in a few years.
“My vehicle is parked on the road. How will I sleep knowing that anyone can take money from my account with the FASTag,” Yadav said.
It is important to note that the authorities have already explained that any such scam is not possible as FASTag does not allow person-to-person (P2P) transactions but only person-to-merchant (P2M) ones.
Please note that there are baseless and false videos circulating on Social media. Do understand the below points:1. No transactions can be executed through open internet connectivity. pic.twitter.com/yTcNGt8R0c
— NPCI (@NPCI_NPCI) June 25, 2022
A video is spreading misinformation about Paytm FASTag that incorrectly shows a smartwatch scanning FASTag. As per NETC guidelines, FASTag payments can be initiated only by authorised merchants, onboarded after multiple rounds of testing. Paytm FASTag is completely safe & secure. pic.twitter.com/BmXhq07HrS— Paytm (@Paytm) June 25, 2022
Nothing ‘official’ about it
A 26-year-old newly appointed government official, who uses the family car, says he is not pasting FASTag because he can use his official card for toll exemption.
“I tell the toll guys that I am on duty, even when I am with the family. But if we put FASTag on the windshield, it will deduct the amount automatically,” he said, seeking anonymity.
It is important to note that toll fee is not exempted for all government officials but a few, including magistrates, defence and security officials, and those from the fire department. However, it allows lower-level officials to cross free of cost if they are on duty, a loophole that is heavily misused.
Car swap
Having multiple cars in the house also discourages people from sticking FASTag as they use the same card for different vehicles.
“We have two cars but I use my father’s FASTag only. I find the process of having a FASTag and recharging it very complex. So he keeps money in the FASTag and I use it if I am taking my car and he uses it for his car also,” said 35-year-old Rohan Agnihotri.
As per the guidelines, customers can use only one FASTag with one vehicle. Once a tag is affixed on the windshield of the vehicle, it cannot be removed as it will get destroyed and will not work at the toll plaza.
‘Driven’ by fear
The fear of losing the vehicle and ending up losing all the bank balance is another fear that stopped 45-year-old Pankaj Singh from fixing FASTag on his car.
“If someone stole my car, they will get access to my FASTag and my bank account. I decided not to put the FASTag in fear,” Singh said.
Other reasons shared by car owners include damage to the windshield or FASTag and even fear of losing money in a road accident.
It is also important to note that one car can only have one FASTag at a time. If the FASTag is lost, stolen, or damaged, users can request a replacement of the sticker from the respective issuing bank. If multiple FASTags are taken from different banks for the same vehicle, only the latest one will be kept active and all other old FASTags will be de-activated and closed for further usage.
In case a user loses the FASTag, it gets damaged, or if the vehicle is lost, the customer can contact the issuing bank and block the FASTag account.
As per Central Motor Vehicles Rules (CMVR), 1989, since December 1, 2017, FASTag has been made mandatory for all registration of new four-wheeled vehicles and is being supplied by the car manufacturers or their dealers. It had also been mandated that the renewal of the fitness certificate will be done only after the fitment of FASTag for the transport vehicles. Further, for national permit vehicles, the fitment of FASTag has been mandated since October 2019.
From January 1, 2021, the union ministry of road transport and highways made FASTag mandatory in old vehicles also – four-wheelers sold before December 1, 2017, through amendments in CMVR, 1989.
